Policy Priorities and Campaigns
Our policy and campaign work integrates with our hotline advice and casework, both from our financial counsellors and our solicitors.
We aim to identify systemic issues that contribute to financial hardship and consumer detriment, and then develop law reform, advocacy and educational responses.
We promote reforms in regulation, policy and industry practices that will help create a fairer marketplace for consumers, particularly disadvantaged consumers.
Financial Rights makes submissions to government and industry, participate in working groups, comment on draft legislation, undertake research, refer unfair practices and systematic issues to regulators and/or industry groups for investigation, and raise awareness through the media.
We also provide a range of publications including landmark reports, educational tools, webinars and newsletters to keep consumers and professionals abreast of developments in key policy areas.
Our Policy Priorities
Financial Rights recognises that there is a vast range of policy issues that impact consumer in financial stress. We must prioritise the issues on which we work to ensure that our resources are used strategically, efficiently and for the benefit of disadvantaged consumers.
While we will ensure we remain responsive to consumer policy issues and debates as they arise, we will retain our focus on the following priority areas during 2022-23.
Financial Rights’ policy activities are funded by NSW Fair Trading, NSW Attorney General and ecstra.
Primary Policy Priorities
- Credit reporting: Building consumer safeguards in the new mandatory credit reporting regime
- Debt enforcement: Examining poor debt collection practices
- Data and Privacy: Ensuring safety and utility of the Consumer Data Right for consumers
- Extreme Weather Events: Improving industry and regulator response, promote regulatory framework for more effective and affordable insurance
Secondary Policy Priorities
- Responsible lending
- Implementation of the Royal Commission Recommendations
- Economic abuse
Supporting Policy Priorities
Supporting other consumers groups only (although we continue to provide client services)
- Pay day lending
- Consumer leases
- Debt management firms
- Buy Now Pay Later
